Two detained in Twin Towers probe

By Rich Chang / Staff reporter

Michael Ho (何岳儒), chairman of a multinational consortium led by Taipei Gateway International Development, and the company’s spokesman Wang You-jen (王佑仁) were detained by the Taipei District Court yesterday for alleged misconduct in the bidding process for the Taipei Twin Towers project.

A consortium led by Taipei Gateway International Development won the tender in October last year with a bid of NT$70 billion (US$2.4 billion), but lost the rights to the project in February, when it failed to put up a NT$1.89 billion performance guarantee by the deadline.

On March 30, Taipei City Councilor Lai Su-ju (賴素如) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was taken into custody on suspicion of accepting a bribe during the bidding stage of the project.

The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleges Ho and other company officials forged documents to say that Japanese developer Mori Building joined the consortium in the bid, which Mori said was false.

Prosecutors also summoned former Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems commissioner Lai Shih-sheng (賴世聲), who served as a consultant for Taipei Gateway International Development after leaving office. Prosecutors alleged that Lai Shih-sheng introduced the firm to Taipei officials and provided the names of the 17 members of the committee reviewing the bid.